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World Telecommunication Day 2021: History, significance and everything you need to know
On World Telecommunication Day, this year, let us look at the importance of the internet and the vital role it has played during the pandemic to let us stay connected with people all across the world.
The World Telecommunication and Information Society Day is observed on May 17 every year. On this day, the International Telecommunication Union or ITU was formed in the year 1969 and the first International Telegraph Convention was confirmed in the year 1865.
This year’s theme for telecommunication day is accelerating digital transformation in challenging times. The role that telecommunication has played over the last few years is immense and it continues to do so by keeping everyone knitted together as a whole, as a community. Especially during these testing times with the ongoing pandemic when movement has become restricted, telecommunication plays an important by letting us stay connected and perform certain activities online like working from home and teaching online. All major companies, school and colleges have adopted online methods and are now using the services of the internet to stay connected globally and carry on with their businesses.
The event for world telecommunication day was first founded in 1969 and it was first celebrated in 2005 when the World Summit on the Information Society called upon the UN General Assembly for declaring May 17 as World Information Society Day.
The UN General Assembly in March 2006, decided that the event would take place every year on 17 May. In 2006, the ITU at a conference in Turkey decided to combine both celebrations as World Telecommunication and Information Society Day in one.
This day is celebrated to raise awareness about the positive impact of the internet and how it helps in keeping people united and bringing them closer despite vast differences and the distance. It helps in motivating people to make use of the internet in a positive way and utilising its benefits to stay connected, pass on information and be updated with the world events.
It also focuses on sharing information with people located in different parts of the world and giving them access to all the information even in remote locations. During a crisis like Covid19 pandemic, technology and telecommunication help in the authorities in charge and scientists in spreading the message and take all the necessary safety measures in order to stay safe.
